Topic Actions

Topic Search

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

Anthrax

The Management is not responsible for the contents of this forum. Enter at your own risk.
Anthrax
Post by Daryl   » Sat May 30, 2015 6:50 am

Daryl
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 3607
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:57 am
Location: Queensland Australia

New scandal to hit the news here. Apparently a US military laboratory mistakenly sent live anthrax to 24 labs in the US, Korea, and Australia in 2008, and have tried to hide the information since.

While it appears that no actual harm occurred, there are several questions that need to be answered.
How did this mistake happen?
Why in a democracy did some individuals think it was ethical to conceal this?
The most damming one is the actual existence of live anthrax itself in a weapons lab. The US pushed for the world to invade Iraq because it might have WMD including anthrax, yet at the same time it possessed this biological weapon itself. How come the false possibility of Iraq having it justified the invasion that killed 100s of thousands of civilians, yet the US was actually guilty at the time?

In a hypothetical universe the nations of this world should now invade the US to check if it still has WMD. Obviously not going to happen because might equals right, but shocking morals nevertheless.
Top
Re: Anthrax
Post by Dilandu   » Sat May 30, 2015 11:48 am

Dilandu
Admiral

Posts: 2542
Joined: Sat May 07, 2011 1:44 pm
Location: Russia

Well, I may answer at least the last question. A lot of military laboratories have a samples of viruses. They must work under the assumption, that SOMEONE could be developing bioweapons, and their duty is to have an answer to that.

The difference was, that Iraq was already known to not only have chemical weapons, but actually use it - agaist Iran in 1980th and against kurdish civilians in 1990th.
------------------------------

Oh well, if shortening the front is what the Germans crave,
Let's shorten it to very end - the length of Fuhrer's grave.

(Red Army lyrics from 1945)
Top
Re: Anthrax
Post by thinkstoomuch   » Sat May 30, 2015 3:31 pm

thinkstoomuch
Admiral

Posts: 2729
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:05 pm
Location: United States of America

Daryl wrote:How did this mistake happen?
Why in a democracy did some individuals think it was ethical to conceal this?
...snip...

Sounds like a typical bureaucracy error. Followed by the first rule of the "average" bureacrat(or most humans). CYA

Wonder where that vaccine I had to take when I got deployed to the persia gulf in the 90's came from. Amazingly enough the guy in the campground told me we weren't there until President Bush lied to Congress. Imagine my surprise.

T2M
-----------------------
Q: “How can something be worth more than it costs? Isn’t everything ‘worth’ what it costs?”
A: “No. That’s just the price. ...
Christopher Anvil from Top Line in "War Games"
Top
Re: Anthrax
Post by Daryl   » Sun May 31, 2015 3:48 am

Daryl
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 3607
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:57 am
Location: Queensland Australia

Agreed, from admitted record Rumsfeld was a middle/senior bureaucrat involved in supplying the means in the 1980s.
And yes they did against the Kurds in 1990s as well. Not nice people.

Mind you Iraq had not used nuclear weapons like some, and in the past 70 yrs lifetime had attacked two countries (Iran and Kuwait), while someone else had attacked many more (Panama, Grenada, Cuba, Iraq, Vietnam, etc, etc.).

Despite this I still regard the US as a good guy. Somewhat naïve, unsophisticated, ill informed, and capitalist centric, but well intentioned. While Saddam was a sh*t.


Dilandu wrote:Well, I may answer at least the last question. A lot of military laboratories have a samples of viruses. They must work under the assumption, that SOMEONE could be developing bioweapons, and their duty is to have an answer to that.

The difference was, that Iraq was already known to not only have chemical weapons, but actually use it - agaist Iran in 1980th and against kurdish civilians in 1990th.
Top
Re: Anthrax
Post by aairfccha   » Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:13 pm

aairfccha
Commander

Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 4:03 pm

Daryl wrote:Despite this I still regard the US as a good guy. Somewhat naïve, unsophisticated, ill informed, and capitalist centric, but well intentioned. While Saddam was a sh*t.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, just look at the current state of the country. Same for Syria.

And then there is Madeleine Albright's response to a question whether the half-million dead children due to sanctions against Iraq were worth it.
I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it.
Top

Return to Politics